act of humanity

St. Louis Team

Kunal Bhatnagar

Kunal is currently a junior at Washington University in St. Louis. He is pursuing a major in neuroscience as well as a minor in finance.

Kunal is currently involved in research centered around the role of KATP channels on Cantú syndrome at the WashU School of Medicine. Beyond his research, he volunteers with Crossroads Hospice and serves as a program leader for the Campus Y Women’s Shelter initiative. While in his home state of NJ, Kunal works as a medical assistant. On campus, Kunal is a teaching assistant for WashU’s general biology class, and is also a member of Alpha Iota Gamma, a pre-health organization on WashU’s campus.

In his free time Kunal enjoys being active by playing basketball and tennis.

Alan Chen

Alan is a Junior at WashU, dual-majoring in Neuroscience and Healthcare Management on a pre-med track.

He is also an undergraduate researcher at the Zipfel Cerebrovascular Lab seeking to improve patient outcomes in neurodegenerative and brain-blood-vessel diseases, conducts clinical research investigating early clinical markers of metastatic brain tumors with WUSM’s Neuro-Oncology division, is a medical scribe at Mercy Hospital STL’s emergency department, serves on the board of the Alzheimer’s Buddies and Chinese Student Association at WashU. He is a former player of the WashU Varsity Football team. This spring, he is studying abroad in Denmark with concentration in medical practice, policy, and global health systems.

In his spare time, Alan enjoys playing basketball, golf, and chess with friends, playing cello, and exploring St. Louis food culture.

Sushruth Manchineella

Sushruth is a junior at WashU, double majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Healthcare Management with a minor in Computer Science on the pre-med track.

Sushruth works as an undergraduate researcher in the Silva Lab applying computational modeling to study cardiac electrophysiology related to arrhythmia formation and propagation within adult cardiomyocytes. He also works as a medical scribe in SSM Cardinal Glennon hospital’s level 1 trauma emergency department. On campus, he serves as the treasurer for BuddyUp Tennis WashU, an adaptive tennis program for Down Syndrome individuals in St. Louis, and is a teaching assistant for upper-level biomedical engineering classes.

In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis (on the club team), playing spike ball, and spending time with friends and family.

Maya Mukadam

Maya is a junior at WashU, majoring in Anthropology with a focus in Global Health and Environment and minoring in Biology and Spanish.

Maya is an undergraduate researcher in the Nichols lab at WUSM, investigating the role of KATP channel mutations on skeletal and cardiac myopathies. She also serves as a program leader for the Campus Y Women’s Shelter initiative program and volunteers with Crossroads Hospice.

In her free time, Maya enjoys hiking, swimming, playing the flute, baking, and spending time with friends and family.

Walter Navid

Walter is a junior at WashU, majoring in biology on the neuroscience track and minoring in political science and finance.

Walter is an undergraduate researcher in the Diwan Lab at WUSM investigating the role of protein aggregation in cardiomyopathy to improve patient outcomes. Prior to his research at WUSM, Walter investigated mechanisms of right ventricular dysfunction at the University of Pittsburgh Medical School. He is published in Circulation and The Annals of Thoracic Surgery as a co-author. Walter also volunteers in the SLU hospital emergency department, works as a medical scribe in SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s hospital, and as a Chemistry PLTL leader at WashU.

In his free time, Walter enjoys playing spikeball, cello, and club soccer at WashU.

Kyrillos Ayoub

Kyrillos is a junior at WashU, majoring in Neuroscience with dual minors in Speech&Hearing and Legal Studies on the pre-med track.

Kyrillos is an undergraduate research technician in the Lee Lab at WUSM, investigating molecular mechanisms and synaptic correlates of post-stroke cortical remapping and restoration of whole brain functional connectivity.

Kyrillos volunteers as an EMT with the Emergency Support Team and serves as a Crew Chief for his local volunteer ambulance corporation.

In his spare time, Kyrillos enjoys hiking, skiing, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.